Rahul's UK sojourn under a cloud as Indian Overseas Congress steps in

Rahul Gandhi was expected to reach London on August 24 from Germany and was scheduled to address an event in the Houses of Parliament building complex

Rahul's UK sojourn under a cloud
 

While Mamata Banerjee's visit to China looks to be on course, a proposed visit of Congress President Rahul Gandhi to the UK appears to be under a cloud. Gandhi was expected to reach London on August 24 from Germany and was scheduled to address an event in the Houses of Parliament building complex. It was supposed to be hosted by the Conservative Friends of India, a group that promotes links between the UK's ruling Conservative Party and India. The event was originally supported by Indian-origin peer Baroness Sandy Verma, who has since backed out, leaving it without parliamentary backing. The Indian Overseas Congress has stepped in and the event — now being billed as a cross-party event — will, in all probability, be held in a different venue.

Kol-Chini bhai-bhai
 

China wants to improve its connection with Kolkata, says Ma Zhanwu, consulate general of China in Kolkata. So now the county has put the visit of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to China on the fast track. In June, Banerjee had cancelled her nine-day trip to China, hours before she was to fly out after Beijing didn't confirm her meetings with the communist party's leadership "at an appropriate level". The episode had raked up a storm online, with Banerjee at the receiving end of trolling because she had announced just days earlier that the Chinese consulate would support a Durga puja that was being organised at a city suburb, Salt Lake, where artistes from that country were expected to participate.

Miffed 
 

Some senior IPS officers who have recently been transferred out of the national capital are complaining that they have been given a raw deal even as others, who were in line for transfer before them, get to stay. The miffed officers, till recently, were  heading some of the 14 police districts in Delhi as deputy commissioners, considered as plum posting. They complain they did not get to serve in the districts long enough while two of their seniors, who should have been transferred long ago, have not only managed to avoid transfers but have also managed to hold on to districts much longer than most officers do. Being from the joint Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (Agmut) cadre, IPS officers have to serve in other states and UTs and traditionally there is a reluctance to go to places such as the Andamans. As disgruntled officers sidestep the questions about who is responsible for this situation, some others who have now been given the charge of districts are apprehensive  about the tenure.